Julia Gnuse
Encyclopedia
Julia Gnuse, commonly known by the nickname The Illustrated Lady, born in 1959, has 95% of her body (including her face) covered in tattoo
s and holds the Guinness Record
for being the most tattoo
ed woman in the world. In her mid 30s, Gnuse developed porphyria
, a condition in which sunlight results in blistering of the skin. As the blisters often result in scarring, she began getting tattoos as a way to cover up the scars. However, the tattoos do not prevent the skin from blistering as they are purely aesthetic.
She currently resides in Foothill Ranch, California
.
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s and holds the Guinness Record
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
for being the most tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
ed woman in the world. In her mid 30s, Gnuse developed porphyria
Porphyria
Porphyrias are a group of inherited or acquired disorders of certain enzymes in the heme bio-synthetic pathway . They are broadly classified as acute porphyrias and cutaneous porphyrias, based on the site of the overproduction and accumulation of the porphyrins...
, a condition in which sunlight results in blistering of the skin. As the blisters often result in scarring, she began getting tattoos as a way to cover up the scars. However, the tattoos do not prevent the skin from blistering as they are purely aesthetic.
She currently resides in Foothill Ranch, California
Foothill Ranch, Lake Forest, California
Foothill Ranch was a census-designated place in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 10,899 at the 2000 census. Foothill Ranch was annexed into Lake Forest, California in 2000....
.